Folding-machine.



E. H. COTTRELL. FOLDINGMACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY I1. 1915.

Patented May 22, 1917.

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Patented May 22, 1917.

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- UNITED STATES. PATENT onmon.

EDGAR H. COT'IBELL, or wns'rnnnr, nnonn mam), ASSIGNOR To 0. B. COTTRELL & sons COMPANY, or NEW YORK, 11. Y., A CORPORATION on DELAWARE.

FOLDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letterslatent. Patented May 22,1917.

Application filed July 17', 1915. Serial No. 40,512.

To all whom it'mag concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR H. CoT'rRnLL, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Westerly, in the countyofWashington' and State of Rhode Island, have'invented a new and useful Improvement in Folding- Machines, of which the following isv a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide means for creasing a group of collected sheets which are to be folded, at or upon one or both sides of the line of fold, so as to facilitatethe opening of the folded product and the turning over of the pages thereof and, in some instances, facilitating the folding of the sheets.

The invention more particularly consists in means for imparting reverse creases in the group of collected sheets upon either side or both sides of the line of fold for accomplishing the above objects,the sheets being thereafter folded lengthwise of their travel.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented inthe accompanying drawings, in which so much of a folding machine as is necessary to fully illustrate my invention, is shown. r y

Figure 1 is a detail diagrammatic section taken from front to rear'through the sheet collecting, slitting, creasing and folding mechanisms, I I

Fig. 2 is a detail section showing the geared driving connections between the sev eral parts, together with the gripper operating mechanisms, p I Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of the first creasing cylinder, together with the slitting and'first creasing disks, v v

Fig. 4 is a side view of the second creasing cylinder and its reverse cre'asin'g" disks,

Fig. 5 is a View in perspective showing a completed signature, "with all the leaves turned over in one 'direction,

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the signature with all the leaves turned over in the other direction, and v Fig. 7 is a similar View with part of the leaves turned in one direction and'part of the leaves turned in the other direction.

The sheets, as they arecut from thetravcling web, notshown herein, are collected on the three-way collecting cylinder 1 by grippers 2,8 and 4, and each fall collectionof sheets is transferredto the set of grippers 5 on the first creasing cylinder 6.

The groups of sheets may be divided longitudinally of their travel into two or more groups. In the present instance, they are divided into two groups by the slitting disk 7. WVhile the two groups of sheets are still held by the grippers 5, each group is sub jected to the action of three creasing disks 8, 9 and 10, the disk 9 being arranged to crease the group of sheets along its fold line lengthwise of the travel ofthe sheetand the disks 8 and 10 being arranged to crease the group of sheets upon opposite sides of and adja cent to'the line of fold and parallel therewith. a

The two groups of sheets are then transferred from the grippers 5 of the first creasing cylinder 6 to the'grippers 11 of the second creasing cylinder 12. While the groups of sheets are held by the grippers 11, each group is subjected to the action of the two creasing disks 13, 1 1, arrangedto reversely crease'the groups of sheets along the crease lines formed therein by the disks 8 and 10 of the first creasing cylinder. It will thus be seen that flexing creases are made in the sheets parallel to and a short distance away from the fold line creases.

Each group of sheets is delivered from the cylinder 12 by tape carriers 15, 16, onto the table 17 of a folding mechanism, the folding blade of which is denoted by 18, which folding mechanism may be of any well known or approved form, and is arranged to fold the sheets together longitudinally of their travel along the crease lines formed by the disks 9.

A shaft 19 is provided with one or more tucking disks 20 arranged to direct the advance edge of each sheet into position to be grasped by the grippers on the three-way collecting cylinder 1.

' The shaft of the threeway collecting cylinder 1 is denoted by 21, the shaft of the first creasing cylinder 6 by 22 and the shaft of the'second creasing cylinder 12 by 23. The shafts 19, 21, 22, 23, are driven at the proper relative speeds through the'gears 24, 25, 26, 27. The tape carriers 15 are. driven from the shaft28 by a gear 29 meshing with the gear 27 The shaft of the slitting disk 7 is and h ha t? '0'; the creasing disks'8,9 and 10, are driven from said gear 26 through the gears 31, 32, 33. The shafts of the creasing disks 13 and 14 are driven from the gear 27 through the gears 34, 35.

A stationary cam 36 is arranged in position to successively open the grippers 2, 3 and 4, to receive the advance edges of the sheets and a movable cam 37 operated from a box cam 38 on the shaft 23 is arranged in position to open the grippers 2, 3 and 4, at the proper times to transfer the collected groups of sheets to the grippers 5 of the cylinder 6.

Stationary cams 39, 40, are arranged in position to open the grippers 5 to receive the collected groups of sheets from the cylinder 1 and transfer the collected and divided groups of sheets to the grippers 11 of the cylinder 12.

Stationary cams 41, 42, are arranged in position to open the grippers 11 to receive the groups of sheets from the cylinder 6 and transfer the same to the control of the tape carriers 15, 16.

It is obvious, from the above description, that by utilizing more or less of the creasing disks and by changing their locations, many combinations may be employed to produce the creasing of the sheets as desired before the folding of the same, said creasing and folding of the sheets being lengthwise of their travel and the folding of the sheets occurring after the creasing thereof. I

It is also evident that the group of sheets need or need not be slit and also that if so desired the sheets need not be collected before subjecting them to the creasing and folding operations.

What I claim is:

1'. "In a machine of the character described a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel and means for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and parallel with the line of fold.

2. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel and means for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and upon opposite sides of the line of fold and parallel therewith.

3. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel and means for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and parallel with the line of fold before the sheets are folded.

4. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel, means for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and upon opposite sides of the line of fold and parallel therewith before the sheets are folded.

5. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device and means for creasing the sheets along the line of fold and for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to the line of fold and parallel therewith.

6. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device and means for creasing the sheets along the line of fold and for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to the line of fold and parallel therewith before the sheets are folded.

7 In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device and means for creasing the sheets along the line of fold and for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and upon opposite sides of the line of fold and parallel therewith.

8. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device and means for creasing the sheets along the line of fold and for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and upon opposite sides of the line of fold and parallel therewith before the sheets are folded. I

9. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel, means for creasing the sheets along their line of fold and for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to the line of fold and parallel therewith.

, 10. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel, means for creasing the sheets along their line of fold and for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to the line of fold and parallel therewith before the sheets are folded.

11. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel and means for creasing the sheets along their line of fold and also for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and upon opposite sides of the line of fold and parallel therewith.

12. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding device for folding the sheets lengthwise of their travel and means for creasing the sheets along their line of fold and also for reversely creasing the sheets adjacent to and upon opposite sides of the line of fold and parallel therewith before the sheets are folded.

13. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism and an interposed creasing mechanism arranged to impart flexing creases to the sheets upon opposite sides of the fold line.

14. In a machine of the character de scribed, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism, and an interposed slitting and creasing mechanism arranged to slit the sheets into groups and to impart flexing creases to each group of sheets upon opposite sides of the fold line.

. 15. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism, creasing cylinders interposed between the folding and feeding mechanisms and means coacting with said cylinders for imparting flexing creases to the sheets upon opposite sides of the fold line.

16. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism, creasing cylinders interposed between the folding and feeding mechanisms, and means coaeting with said cylinders for slitting the sheets into groups and for imparting flexing creases to each group upon opposite sides of the fold line.

17. I11 a machine of the character described, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism, interposed creasing cylinders, creasing disks coacting with the first cylinder for imparting flexing creases to the sheets upon opposite sides of the fold line and disks coacting with the second cylinder for reversely creasing the sheets.

the first cylinder for imparting a crease in the sheets along a fold line and flexing creases upon opposite sides of the fold line and disks coacting with the second cylinder for reversely creasing the flexing creases.

19. I11 a machine of the character described, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism, interposed creasing cylinders, disks coacting with the first cylinder for slitting the sheets into groups of sheets and for imparting flexing creases to each group of sheets upon opposite sides of the fold line and disks coacting with the second cylinder for reversely creasing the flexing creases.

20. In a machine of the character described, a sheet folding mechanism, a sheet collecting and feeding mechanism, interposed creasing cylinders, disks coacting with the first cylinder for slitting the sheets into groups of sheets, for imparting a crease along the fold line of each group and for imparting flexing creases upon opposite sides of the fold line and disks coacting with the second cylinder for rev-ersely creasing the flexing creases.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signed my name this fifteenth day of July, 1915.

EDGAR I-I. COTTRELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. c." 

